THE GLOBAL AND THE LOCAL

A R T M A T T E R S By Sushma Joshi ECS Magazine, February 2008 Did the title get your attention? Did you think, as I did, that it would be fun to have a how-to book on building a Nepali temple—after all, our ancestors seem to have indulged in this pastime in generous measure, and there is no reason for us to give up on it just because bungee-jumping and barhopping are now the more popular pastimes. How come we don’t know how to do it? Perhaps it’s the missing how-to book? Enter Elements of Nepali Temple Architecture by Puruswottam Dongol. This large format book is generously illustrated with photographs of Kathmandu valley temples. While not a Western-style how-to book, it has elements that an ingenious architect may use to think about ways to create a new temple. Starting with a history of temple construction, briefly discussing the non-denomination aspects of Nepali temples, which incorporates both Buddhist and Hindu iconography, the book moves to a discussion of traditio...

M E E T T H E A R T I S T By Sushma Joshi ECS Magazine, February 2008 Why Nepal? I ask. Pourquoi Nepal? Chloe translates. Christian ponders, then shrugs that slight French shrug. He taps the left side of his chest, where his heart is, with his right hand. “It is a small question with a big answer,” he says. Why would an art dealer from Paris up and leave his successful business of dealing in 19th century European paintings and antiques, sell his apartment, and move to Nepal? Looking at Christian Salzgeber and Chloe, his wife, I see that shrug mirrored between the two of them again. “It has always been a big dream of mine to move to Nepal,” Christian says, finally. I dig a little further. In classic French fashion, the big answer is to be condensed in one stylish answer: heart. Or to use Christian’s accent—it appears to be a matter of the ’eart. “Nepali people,” Christian says, “have given us a lot of love. A lot of friendships. There are other places with mountains and l...